What is overload fitness?

There are three major fitness principles, among which, the overload principle is most followed by weightlifters and athletes to push themselves to their limits while improving their physical fitness. Do you want to know what is overload fitness and what strategies you need to apply to make use of it? Keep reading.

What Is Overload Fitness?

It is a principle for physical training in which you push your body to its limits to improve its efficiency during physical activities. The overload principle isn’t an overnight miracle, instead, it takes a considerable amount of time to achieve the results after applying the overload principle to daily workout routine consistently.

How To Overload? The Strategies

Before deciding to overload, you need to know the ways of applying the overload principle without hitting a plateau. There are some strategies that help you increase all the factors of the workout gradually to reach your fitness goals. These factors are known as the FITT principle. Let us tell you how each factor is used to overload.

1: Frequency

It refers to adding or decreasing the number of an exercise performed during a week. One can enhance the frequency of a single workout to add more stress to muscles.

2: Intensity

It refers to increasing the difficulty level of the exercise to add resistance and increase muscle endurance.

3: Time

Not only increasing the number and intensity of an exercise can help but increasing the total time of the exercise is equally important. More the time the exercise, more the pressure on the muscles.

4: Type

Adding a variety of workouts to the routine to make sure that every muscle groups get the effect of the overload principle is also the part of FIIT principle.

Risks Associated With Overloading

Putting too much stress on your body surely comes with its own risks. But it only happens if you fail to use the overload principle in the right way. If you will overdo it, you might experience:

• Sudden weight loss
• Elevated BP
• Elevated heart rate (resting)
• Sleep deprivation
• Fatigue
• Mood swings
• Extended recovery time
• Muscle soreness

How To Safely Perform Overloading?

It’s crucial to apply the overload principle to your fitness routine in a safe manner, or else you can end up getting hurt. Here are some safety guides which you can use to your benefit.

1: Try to test the maximum you can put stress on your muscles, but not overdo it,

2: Start adding load progressively and gradually.

3: Allow your body to recover by taking ample rest.

4: Always plan the amount of load you are going to add and monitor it.

5: Try adding alternative exercises or activities to work out all the muscles.

6: Make a plan so you can perform certain workouts on certain days and can avoid injuries.

7: Do not be afraid of trial and error. Try different exercises to know your limits and if one workout does not work for you, simply switch to another one.

8: Always train with like-minded people who can motivate you and can help you be accountable for yourself as well.

The Final Word

The overload principle refers to adding an additional stress on the body to test its limits so one can improve physical fitness by challenging the body. The overload principle can be followed by applying the FITT principle to the daily workout routine but overdoing can result in serious health problems. That’s why it’s necessary that you use this principle in a proper manner.